Common Bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris) — Fine-Leaved Perennial for Lawns, Golf & Amenity
Common Bentgrass is a fine-leaved perennial grass with a delicate, attractive seed head that opens loosely from late spring through to autumn. Often referred to as ‘golf green’ grass, it’s a staple of the amenity sector — prized for its ability to form a short, even, close-cut turf that holds up well under regular mowing. It’s equally at home in ornamental lawns, bowling greens, and wildflower or environmental seed mixtures, where its non-aggressive nature means it won’t crowd out more delicate companion species.
What It’s Used For
Bentgrass is most commonly used in the amenity sector — lawns, golf courses, bowling greens, and fine turf surfaces. It also has a role in wildflower and environmental seed mixtures, where its low competitiveness is an asset rather than a limitation. You’ll rarely find it sown as a pure stand; it performs best as a component in a well-balanced mixture.
How Long Will It Last?
A long-term perennial species, bentgrass is often most prevalent on poorer soils. On higher-fertility soils receiving artificial fertiliser or high lime inputs, it may be outcompeted by more aggressive cultivated species over time.
Key Strengths
- Forms a short, even, fine-textured turf — ideal for ornamental lawns and bowling greens
- Tolerates close mowing down to 5 mm
- Non-aggressive — a good companion in wildflower and environmental mixtures
- Attractive, delicate seed head with seasonal purple tints
- Short creeping rhizomes help knit the turf together
Sowing Rate
- Pure stand: 40 kg/acre (100 kg/ha) — very rarely sown this way due to the small seed size
- In a mixture: 0.5 kg/acre (1.25 kg/ha) — typically around 5% of a mixture by weight
Bentgrass has an exceptionally small seed (around 1,000,000 seeds per kg), so only small quantities are needed to achieve good plant numbers in a mixture. Sow onto a fine, firm seedbed with good moisture for best germination results. It can be sown at most times of year.
Grazing & Mowing Management
Bentgrass tolerates being cut low, making it well-suited to fine turf applications. In heavily grazed or trampled areas, older swards may form dense, low-growing clumps — a characteristic that can actually be useful for hard-wearing surfaces.
Identifying the Crop
Seed: Small (1 mm), oblong to ovate in shape, with a shiny brown to amber colour.
Mature plant: Rich dark green, with flat, rough leaf blades (1–5 mm wide), lanceolate in shape and pointed at the tip. Ligules are short, collared, and rounded (2 mm). The branched panicle is open from early development through to seeding, with spikelets clustered towards the ends — tinged purple later in the season. Culms can be rough near the panicle. Short creeping rhizomes. Height 20–50 cm, potentially taller on fertile soils. Flowers June–July.
Works Well With
Bentgrass is seldom used alone. A blend of dwarf ryegrass, fescue, and bentgrass produces a tightly knitted turf with excellent toughness — well-suited to lawns, caravan parks, and airfields. A recent introduction worth noting is Agrostis castellana ‘Highland’, which has gained traction in the amenity sector.
Find Bentgrass in Our Amenity Mixtures
Bentgrass features in several of our DLF amenity mixtures, designed for fine turf, sports surfaces, and hard-wearing lawns: